7/01/2008

IsraelIsraeli authorities warn hospitals to prepare for earthquake - A strong earthquake could soon rock Lebanon and parts of Israel, authorities said on Monday, urging health officials in northern Israel to make preparations for such an event. "The probability of an earthquake of a magnitude of up to six on the Richter scale, originating in Lebanon and being felt in Israel has increased." Since February, ABNORMAL seismic activity has been noted in southern Lebanon, which suffered some 500 minor earthquakes in a three-month period. "In May, the tremors have become more intense and were felt in northern Israel. Should an earthquake of such magnitude hit northern Israel it may cause substantial infrastructural damage in the area." Some seismological experts point out quakes historically have rocked the region every eight decades, and the last one was just about 81 years ago. About 300 people were killed in Jerusalem and nearby Jericho by the July 11, 1927 temblor. A similar quake measuring seven on the Richter scale and with an epicentre in the Hula Valley, in what today is northern Israel, devastated the town of Safed and killed some 4,000 people in 1837.